Looking for feedback on a new build. Needs a monitor, os, everything. ~$1500

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Deekun

Deekun

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Jun 1, 2013
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Hi everyone. I'm working on my first build and I'm finally getting ready to buy everything. I was supposed to get this a couple months ago, but money problems came up and it had to wait. We just finished a big job though and so we're caught up enough that I can finally afford it. The budget is around $1500, but I might be able to go a couple hundred more if need be. Although, because of the video card situation I mention below, that'll probably be an obstacle for later.

This is pretty much exclusively going to be a gaming computer. I haven't really ever been a pc gamer, because I've never had a pc powerful enough to run anything. However, I'm a huge console gamer and would love to get into pc gaming, so I wanted this build to be able to run all the big titles. I play a little bit of everything, so I just want a system that can run whatever I throw at it decently.

I don't have a video card picked out because of all the hype surrounding the new AMD cards and NVIDIA cutting prices in November. I'm okay with getting the rest of the build now and just holding out for another month to see if I can snag a better card. I'm moving up from a laptop with a single core AMD Sempron, so anything I get will be an unbelievable improvement and I'm fine with using the 4670K's integrated graphics for a little while. (I'll mostly be playing minecraft with my friends before I try any intense gaming anyway, so I won't need any real muscle right away)

So here's the build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($32.55 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($82.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($131.49 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-N180UBE 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($17.85 @ Amazon)
Case: Rosewill Challenger-U3 ATX Mid Tower Case ($50.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 850W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.49 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.00 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus VH238H 23.0" Monitor ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Mouse: Razer Abyssus Mirror Special Edition Wired Optical Mouse ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1250.29
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-10-07 00:58 EDT-0400)

A few more notes; I'm still not entirely sure what all I should be looking for in a motherboard, is there anything specific this one is missing? Also, I'm working on getting an ethernet connection strung out from my router, but until then I'm gonna need a wireless adapter, so if anyone has any better suggestions, I'd love to hear them. I also picked such a big psu because I'm not sure what video card I'll end up with and want to be able to SLI at some point if I ever need to. And I really have no idea about monitors, keyboards or mice, those just looked popular so I was hoping they were decent. Any better suggestions on those would be much appreciated as well.

I plan on buying everything from Amazon and Newegg, so it would be very helpful if their pricing was used in any suggestions.

Sorry for such a long post, I've just been looking forward to this for a long time, so I'd really like to get all I can out of this build. Thank you all in advance! :)
 
Solution
Tradesman1
I'd just stick with your original pick, the Z87-A, Asus seems to have the best handle on the Z87 and Haswell....on the cooler, same, stick with the EVO unless planning to OC over 4.4, then look at a Phantech or maybe liquid, seldom ever find a need for liquid and they often end up costing more because the fans are loud and many want to change those (especially the corsairs), it take a H80 to match a EVO and a H100 to top it, also on your case, if you stick with the EVO, it should fit, but the pipes will be right to the side of the case, if you could find one a bit wider might be better
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ddbtkd456

ddbtkd456

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Sep 4, 2013
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Problem:



Solution:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H80i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Pro3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.46 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-N180UBE 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($17.85 @ Amazon)
Case: Rosewill Challenger-U3 ATX Mid Tower Case ($50.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($71.30 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($85.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: ViewSonic VA2406m-LED 24.0" Monitor ($159.99 @ Best Buy)
Keyboard: Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($49.98 @ Outlet PC)
Mouse: Razer Abyssus Mirror Special Edition Wired Optical Mouse ($37.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1089.48
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-10-07 01:38 EDT-0400)

Just a couple modifications to make it slightly cheaper for you :) Put that money towards a better video card, I also snagged you a 24" monitor and a water cooler for the rear exhaust. But yes very good on the rest of it, Also there is no reason to spend that much on the power supply or motherboard, same with the SSD and HDD.

Additional Information:

I hope this helps answer your question a little bit better. Also please remember to select your best answer so that others may learn from your thread. Remember that you can contact me anytime about any questions or concerns you might have about things in the future. Thank you for your time and have a pleasant day/night.
 
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Deekun

Deekun

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Jun 1, 2013
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@ ddbtkd456 Thanks for your thoughts! The monitor I originally picked out has a better response time and a couple other things (HDMI port, etc.) that just make it a little more worth it to me. Same with the SSD and HDD, I'd rather spend a little more up front and get a little better quality stuff. I think you're right about the psu though, mine was too high. Do you really think the liquid cooling is necessary? I'm probably not going to go for a really high overclock or anything. Also, would that motherboard be able to run two cards in SLI as well as the first? I want to keep that as an option for later on.
 
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ddbtkd456

ddbtkd456

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Yes, that board will be able to SLI, I made sure of it when I picked it out for you (I always do for future reference cause I know how much of a pain it is to find a new motherboard), and to answer your question the only real difference between the board you had and this board is better heat sinks in the motherboard. Water cooling is something I always recommend, since it keeps it just as cool as an aftermarket air coolers, (if not a couple degrees colder) however with liquid coolers there is no extra weight added to support the stress of the air cooler on the motherboard and it is much much quieter then a standard air cooler, although I do have to hand it to the Coolmaster Evo, still it is my recommendation regardless. As for your SSD & HDD, that is up to you since it is your build, however my point on that was that the Kingston V300 and the Seagate 1 Terabyte (both of which I run in my computer) have been running for 2+ year in different systems, and have never ever given any sort of problems, but again it is up to you. Your monitor is totally your choice, although that monitor does have a 5 ms response time, I can see if I can find you another one if you want. As for your power supply, this Seasonic is way more affordable for you (or anyone really) plus it is a 620 watt, however if you want to SLI in the future I would recommend this one instead (so you won't have to upgrade in the future):

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Power Supply: XFX 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Asus VX238H-W 23.0" Monitor ($177.49 @ Amazon)
Total: $267.48
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-10-07 02:30 EDT-0400)

Also this monitor I suggested is less than $20.00 dollars more and includes 2xHDMI ports, DVI, & VGA, along with having a better contrast ratio and a 1 ms response time.

Additional Information:

I hope this helps answer your question a little bit better. Also please remember to select your best answer so that others may learn from your thread. Remember that you can contact me anytime about any questions or concerns you might have about things in the future. Thank you for your time and have a pleasant day/night.
 
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Deekun

Deekun

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@ddbtkd456 Ok, thank you for the info on the motherboard and psu, I think I will go with a lower watt seasonic. That's interesting about the liquid cooling, I didn't think about stress on the motherboard itself. I'll keep that in mind before I make the final call on it. I think I'll stick with the original SSD and HDD for now. I'm sure the others are perfectly fine, I'm just kind of attached to those models already. :) And that monitor looks like a good deal, I'll probably go with that one. Thanks again!

I am still open to any advice anybody else has.
 
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Deekun

Deekun

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Another motherboard question for everyone, are there any features I should specifically look for that will be helpful on a motherboard, or is it really just a matter of pricing and quality?
 
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ddbtkd456

ddbtkd456

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UEFI - which is a user friendly interference
USB 3.0 - Which is a faster USB port
Crossfire and SLI port.

Asus and ASrock only support UEFI (main ones), there are a couple of gigabytes and msi that do, but I wouldn't recommend them.
 
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Deekun

Deekun

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Okay, thank you again. I'm still looking through everything and learning more about the different components. I'm not on a super tight budget so I don't mind looking at pricier parts if they would add value.
 
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Tradesman1

Tradesman1

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Jun 5, 2013
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I'd just stick with your original pick, the Z87-A, Asus seems to have the best handle on the Z87 and Haswell....on the cooler, same, stick with the EVO unless planning to OC over 4.4, then look at a Phantech or maybe liquid, seldom ever find a need for liquid and they often end up costing more because the fans are loud and many want to change those (especially the corsairs), it take a H80 to match a EVO and a H100 to top it, also on your case, if you stick with the EVO, it should fit, but the pipes will be right to the side of the case, if you could find one a bit wider might be better
 
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Deekun

Deekun

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Thank you, I think I'll stick with the Asus. I was actually thinking of looking at some more expensive ones even, but I don't know which ones would be worth it. And I'm probably not going to go for a very aggressive overclock, so the EVO is probably enough too. One question, would there be any risk of damage or anything to the case if I stick with the Challenger? It's really the only one that I've found that I've really liked. I could find another one, but if this one will work without anything really wrong with it, I'd much prefer to keep it.
 
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Tradesman1

Tradesman1

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If there is any problem, drop me a PM, I'm sure we can take care of it easily, since I don't know your budget, could look at the Asus Z87-Plus, a litle better, or the Gryphon, a good step up, better cooling, thermal controls, OCing, etc believe it's $170 at the Egg.........but drom what you've mentioned think the A will be fine
 
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Deekun

Deekun

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I've looked online a little and people say it does fit, albeit with almost no room to spare. But it seems to work for them, so I think I'll go for it. Worst case, I'll just leave the cpu at stock speeds until I get a different cooler. As for budget, it was around $1500, but I can probably go up another $200, or maybe even $300. And since I'm waiting until we find out what's going to happen to gpu prices when AMD releases their new cards in November, I could spend $1400-1500 now, and just start saving up again in case I need more money for the gpu. (I was thinking about a 760, but if they cut the 770 down a little bit, I'd be very tempted to go for it. Especially seeing what I'm already spending on the rest of the build.)
 
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Tradesman1

Tradesman1

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;) can add up quickly , eh! if you can go higher, take a look at the Hero from Asus, I sort of predicted it to be THE mobo for Z87 after my first build on it, after my second I ordered one for myself, felt the same way with the Rock's Z77 Extreme 4 when I first got it, and it did turn out to be THE mobo for Z77, best is=n sales and highest rated
 
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Deekun

Deekun

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Jun 1, 2013
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Ha ha, yeah, all those little pieces definitely add up. :) I'll be sure to check out the Hero before I order everything. I should get the money within then next two weeks, and I want to have my build picked out so I can order the day I get it. Basically, I'm just gonna check out what the price tag is gonna be like if I do go for some of the more expensive stuff here and just make sure to leave enough in the budget to get a nice gpu when we finally find out what's happening with them.

Thank you both for your help so far. I'll leave this thread open until I order everything so that anybody else can comment if they see something that can really make a difference, but I think I pretty much have everything sorted out now. Thanks again! :D
 
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Deekun

Deekun

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Well, it took a while, but I finally got everything! I ended up going with an Asus Z87-PLUS motherboard. It seemed like it was worth a little bit more money. I also dropped the power supply down to a 620 and got that nicer monitor ddbtkd456 suggested. I also just installed my video card, a 4GB 770 from Gigabyte. I wanted that Assassin's Creed/Batman Origins bundle from Nvidia, so the 770 looked like the best choice for me.

Anyway, the computer is all set up and running great! I just wanted to let you know how it went and thank you guys for everything! Thanks! :D
 
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